Current bookings show that Chinese travel will begin to peak from 10 February to 14 February, ahead of the Year of the Dog celebrations.
Daily international departures are running ahead +11% year-on-year, travel analyst ForwardKeys predicts future travel patterns by analysing 17 million daily flight bookings.
Asia Pacific is the top regional destination. It has a market share of 76%, with bookings ahead by +13%. Destinations in Southeast Asia will experience an additional uplift as traffic to South Korea has slowed due to the lingering effect of the diplomatic rift over THAAD, says ForwardKeys.
The Americas, Europe and Africa and the Middle East are also showing steady growth.
Japan, Thailand and Taiwan hold their positions as the top three destination countries. New Zealand tops the list of fastest-growing destinations – surging +30% on 2017, followed by Vietnam (+22.5%) and Hong Kong (+18.3%).
The pattern for Chinese people heading home after the celebrations tracks last year’s movement – peaking on 21 February at the end of Golden Week.